Beijing has objected to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) plan for India that includes projects in Arunachal Pradesh, reports Reshma Patil.

Beijing has objected to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) plan for India that includes projects in Arunachal Pradesh.

China had reportedly blocked a consensus at the ADB board meeting this month, which approved an India plan that included $60 million watershed projects for the northeastern state.

Both nations are locked in negotiations to resolve a decades-old border row. China claims the entire state as ‘disputed territory’.

On Thursday, foreign ministry spokesperson Qin Gang said China was “strongly dissatisfied” and called upon the bank not to intervene in the political affairs of its members.

“The ADB, regardless of China’s grave concerns, adopted the Country Partnership Strategy for India (2009-2012), which involves disputed areas between China and India,’’ said Qin. He said the document “cannot change the existence of the China-India territorial disputes, nor China’s position” on the issue.

“The Chinese government strongly demands that the ADB take effective measures to eliminate the impact,’’ he said.